Major exhibition set to launch at Southampton City Art Gallery

A major new exhibition is set to launch at a Southampton gallery.

A solo show by artist Emma Richardson, who was born in Southampton, will open the newly refurbished Southampton City Art Gallery on Saturday, March 7, 2026.

Councillor Alex Winning, leader of the council, said: “We are honoured that our opening exhibition is by an artist born right here in our city.

“It’s great to be able to play a small part in supporting Emma Richardson’s artistic journey, alongside her successful musical career – and is just one example of the amazing talent we have right here in Southampton.”

READ MORE: The Crown actor unveils new artwork on display in Romsey

Southampton-born artist Emma Richardson will open the newly refurbished Southampton City Art Gallery. (Image: Southampton City Council)

Levitate Me: Desire, Ecstasy and The Sublime will run until August 31, 2026 and will feature a new series of oil paintings that explore themes of desire, transcendence, and the sublime.

Ms Richardson, a touring musician currently performing with the Pixies, said: “I’m fascinated with how oil paint, with its sensual, physical properties, can be pushed to speak not just of the outer world, but of what stirs beneath it, our complex inner worlds, the unseen emotional, erotic and psychological layers of human experience.”

The exhibition spans the entire east wing of the gallery and is structured across three rooms exploring desire, ecstasy, and the sublime.

The exhibition will feature large-scale, sensuous oil paintings that blend baroque intensity with sci-fi dreamscapes.

READ MORE: SO: Cultured – City Reflections: Bringing Southampton’s history to life

Phil Gibby, area director for Arts Council England in the South West, said: “This is fantastic news for Southampton – a place of strategic importance to Arts Council England, and where communities can now reconnect with their local gallery and learn from the stories and objects that shape their city.

“I’m especially pleased to see the re-opening marked by an exhibition from an artist who has been supported through our Developing Your Creative Practice programme.”

Visitors will also see works by Ithell Colquhoun, Helen Chadwick, Auguste Rodin, and John Martin, selected by Ms Richardson from the gallery’s collection to be displayed alongside her own pieces.

The exhibition is both a personal and professional homecoming for Ms Richardson, who spent much of her life in Southampton.

This display marks the beginning of a new chapter for the gallery as it reopens to the public.